Report Card: BYU 83, Gonzaga 73

Brigham Young Cougars

83

Final

73

Gonzaga Bulldogs

STARTERS

	Matt Carlino, PG 7-13 FG | 1-2 3PT | 3-4 FT | 0 REB | 5 AST | 18 PTS This was Carlino's best game, hands down. This is the kind of game Rose wants him to play every time out. He was a floor general on offense and he pushed (or, more accurately, sprinted) the ball up the floor on every possession, which created scoring opportunities for himself and others. In a head-to-head with Gonzaga's celebrated freshman Kevin Pangos, Carlino won this round.
	Anson Winder, SG 4-8 FG | 1-4 3PT | 1-2 FT | 4 REB | 5 AST | 10 PTS This was the surprise move of the night, with Winder getting the start over Zylstra. Anson responded with a very solid effort. Though he looked a little sloppy handling the ball at times, he still put together a solid 10-4-5 game (somehow with no turnovers!), in addition to his invaluable lock-down defense. Here's to hoping he's rewarded with more opportunities in the future.
	Charles Abouo, SF 1-4 FG | 0-1 3PT | 2-2 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 2 PTS This was a tough one for Charles, mostly because he picked up a few quick fouls at the hands of the whistle-happy WCC refs and was taken out of the game — both figuratively and literally —from the very beginning. He never really got into rhythm on offense, but his defensive hounding of Pangos (at least when Abouo wasn't on the bench) was critical in keeping the freshman under-wraps.
	Noah Hartsock, PF 10-19 FG | 0-0 3PT | 4-5 FT | 14 REB | 3 AST | 24 PTS Noah may not look like much, but man is he good. After all the talk about which team had the superior post play, Hartsock answered the question emphatically tonight. After a tough shooting start, he heated up at the beginning of the second half and never looked back, leaving a pile of Zags along the way. A great performance from a great player in a huge game. What more can you ask?
	Brandon Davies, C 7-12 FG | 0-0 3PT | 1-3 FT | 5 REB | 1 AST | 15 PTS Davies also struggled with foul trouble throughout the game, but he made the most of his time on the floor. When he did get post touches, Brandon absolutely abused the Zags' Robert Sacre. He made him look downright silly, while also picking up his typical 2-3 charges for the night. A strong performance, especially considering the foul situation. Now if we could just figure out how to limit his turnovers...

BENCH

	Nate Austin, C 1-5 FG | 0-2 3PT | 1-1 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 3 PTS For the first time ever, I felt like Austin was overmatched by Gonzaga's bigs tonight. He had trouble holding his own in the post with the big boys, and he looked uncomfortable on both ends of the court. He also only snagged 2 rebounds, which is highly unusual for Nate. Give credit to the Zags for holding him in check, but I think he is better than he showed tonight.
	Craig Cusick, PG 0-3 FG | 0-1 3PT | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 2 AST | 0 PTS With Carlino playing well, Cusick didn't get quite as many opportunities as he's recently been accustomed to receiving. When he did get on the court, Craig was a satisfactory floor leader as always, but I would still like to see him assert himself more offensively — I think he's selling his game short by not attacking more frequently.
	Damarcus Harrison, SG 2-2 FG | 1-1 3PT | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 2 AST | 5 PTS Harrison continues to surprise. After being virtually resurrected from the depths of the bench in the last few games, Damarcus played only 8 minutes in this one, but he played exceptionally well when he got the chance. He seems to be the only Cougar who can make an outside shot right now, and he is a menacing defender to boot. As with Winder, I hope to see more from Harrison in the games ahead.
	Brock Zylstra, SG 2-3 FG | 0-1 3PT | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 1 AST | 4 PTS Another big game, another conspicuously absent Brock Zylstra. It's not that he played poorly against the Zags per se — I just didn't even notice he was playing at all.  I'll give him a pass today because a) it's his birthday, and b) I'm still excited about the win, but I'm starting to get nervous that Ghostface Zylla will never actually show up when it matters. Of course, I'd love for him to prove me wrong...